Photochromic compounds are employed in implementing neuron surrogates. They will boost the development of neuromorphic engineering in wetware. In this work, the photochromic behaviours of (E)-3,4,6-trichloro-2-(p-diazenil)-phenol (t-DZH) and its conjugated phenoxide base (t-DZ) have been investigated experimentally in three different media: (1) pure acetonitrile, (2) in water and acetonitrile mixed in a 1/1 volume ratio, and (3) in an aqueous micellar solution of 3-(N,N-Dimethylmyristylammonio)propanesulfonate (SB3-14). The analysis of the spectral and kinetic features of t-DZH and t-DZ has been supported by quantum-mechanical DFT calculations, the maximum entropy method, and the determination of their colourability (C). The versatility of t-DZH and t-DZ makes them promising molecular probes of micro-environments and potential ingredients of photochemical oscillators required for implementing pacemaker neurons capable of communicating through optical signals in wetware.
Keywords: azobenzene; molecular probe; molecular switch; photochemistry; photochromism.